More Articles

Reports of people scammed by a man supposedly collecting money for the Wounded Warrior Project
are rolling in to Columbus police.

Last Monday and Tuesday alone, six North Side businesses said they had given small sums in the
past — $20 or so — to someone who said he was raising money for the organization that helps injured
military-service members.

Investigators said on Oct. 15 that they think that Joseph Earl Steward, 45, most recently of
Franklinton, had been going door to door in central Ohio since mid-June. The organization is a
legitimate one, but it had received no money from Steward and does not solicit door to door.

Steward has since been arrested in Toledo and is in custody there. He is charged with crimes
that include impersonating a Lucas County sheriff’s lieutenant to solicit donations to charity. He
has been charged with identity theft in Franklin and Madison counties and charged in Grove City
Mayor’s Court with impersonating a police officer.

Investigators say that more than 300 individuals and businesses might have given Steward
money.

People who think they have been scammed can call Columbus police at 614-645-4545 and ask for the
fraud unit.

• • •

A couple of incidents this month show that the smallest argument can escalate into a police
situation:

• A Hilltop woman called the cops on Oct. 14 after getting into a fight with her boyfriend. She
wanted to cuddle, he did not, and things spun out of control.

She said he hit her in the face with a closed fist. He said she had kicked him in the genitals,
and he hit her “half-power” to get her to stop.

• A shopper at the Kroger on Polaris Parkway called on Oct. 17 to say that a woman had accused
him of parking too close to her while she loaded groceries into her car.

The shopper went inside and came back out to find that the woman had been joined by a man, who
threatened to beat the shopper up.

• • •

Those of us who check electronic reports on the Columbus police website have noticed access
problems the past few weeks. It’s not our imagination, according to the city’s Department of Public
Safety.

An equipment-disk failure on Oct. 7 caused problems for
www.columbuspolice.org, IT coordinator
Kerry Ventura said in an email. Online reporting services and public access to individual reports
were two of the areas affected.

Ventura said those areas are now “fully functional,” though “as we continue to improve and
update the website, there may be a short interruption of services.”